Carpenters and in particular, those carpenters performing building framing generally require many hand tools to accomplish their task. In addition to the obvious requirement of a hammer and saw, a framing carpenter also requires the use of a number of additional hand tools such as a right angle square, and adjustable bevel (angled) square, a level, a saw guide and a means for determining the spacing between framing timbers, to name but a few. Although these hand tools are not necessarily used constantly, they are quite frequently used and must always be readily available to the carpenter.
Traditionally, carpenters have maintained and transported one or more large boxes of single purpose hand tools to their work site, from which they draw the appropriate tool, as necessary. Having to stop to retrieve the appropriate single purpose tool, however, is generally a great inconvenience, and costs a considerable amount of time, money and energy. Although it would be desirable, a carpenter cannot possibly keep one of each of the possible requisite hand tools in his or her work apron or pouch.
Several prior art devices are known which attempt to combine several hand tools into one device. Examples of such tools are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 325,036; 734,290; 738,422; 1,160,920; 1,585,563; 2,246,066; 2,668,359; 3,289,301; 3,574,945; 4,301,600 and 4,825,559.
Such prior art devices, however, all share one or more deficiencies. For example, all such devices do not include all of the required hand tools in one tool. Others of these devices cannot be easily carried in a carpenter's work apron or pouch. Additionally, none of the prior art devices are designed to provide one or more tools to assist the carpenter who is working alone. Such tools include a dry line holder and a deadman timber holder. Most importantly, none of the prior art devices include means for quickly and accurately measuring and gauging the standard distance between building framing timber.
Accordingly, what is needed is a single, multi-purpose hand tool which provides a carpenter and particularly, a framing carpenter, with the equivalent of a number of hand tools, each of which is required by the carpenter, in one hand tool device. In addition, such a tool should advantageously be lightweight and compact to be easily stored in a carpenter's work apron or pouch.